No vax, no contract

Wallis Wang

Unvaccinated teaching staff at the Chinese University of Hong Kong will not be given any work and eventually will not have their contracts renewed.

In an e-mail to unvaccinated staff yesterday, the university's human resources office also said those who remain unvaccinated will be denied access to the campus and university facilities from January 10.

"Your CU link card will be deactivated and you will be unable to gain access to university facilities requiring swipe card access," it said.

The office added that unvaccinated staff must communicate with their department chairs or unit heads to explain their situation and discuss whether they will choose to get the jab or undergo weekly tests.

"If you remain noncompliant on January 10 you will not be assigned duty forthwith until such time as you comply with the university's requirements," it said.

And if there are special reasons that university employees cannot get the jab they must explain them to their bosses, the office said.

University vice president Eric Ng Shu-pui also said in a letter to department and faculty heads on Tuesday that teaching staff who did not get vaccinated and did not provide a negative result every week would be put on leave and would not have contracts renewed.

"The follow-up measures will include directing staff to take annual leave or leave without pay during the noncompliant period," Ng said.

"If a staff member remains noncompliant and their contract is due to expire, the university will not renew contracts."

Ng also urged department heads to counsel colleagues as appropriate to ensure they comply with requirements.

"The university believes that vaccination is essential in consolidating our hard-fought successes against the pandemic and would encourage anyone still unvaccinated to get protected as soon as possible," Ng added.

"We appeal to all in our community to do everything we can to ensure our safety and well-being."

The CUHK had earlier told staff members and students to get vaccinated or be tested every week.

Students who do not meet requirements will also be barred from attending classes or entering the campus and using university facilities.

The CUHK website also stated that "the university will not make any special arrangements for online classes to accommodate students who do not get vaccinated and refuse testing."

A "very small number" of online courses would be available, it added, but "enrollment in all face-to-face courses will be canceled."

In responding to questions from The Standard, the university said it was taking "extra measures to protect the safety of the CUHK campus" in January, and they were the "most appropriate measures to cope with the public health risk at the moment."

Earlier, the University of Hong Kong said card readers will be installed at its entrances, so all students and staff entering the campus from January will need to be fully vaccinated or undergo weekly tests.

The Chinese University did not reveal the vaccination rate among its teaching staff and students.

Overall, 71.9 percent of Hongkongers have had a first shot of a vaccine while both-dose coverage stands at 68.6 percent.

An unvaccinated CUHK employee, Chan, said university authorities have until now handled cases of unvaccinated employees individually, and the letter she received laid out the penalties for the first time.

Chan said she did not follow the university requirement in the past but could still enter the campus as usual.

But now, she said, the university instruction "is ridiculous and illogical," and she will not get vaccinated.

Another employee, Jamie, criticized the university for denying people's right to choose on whether to get the jab or not. Her contract is due to end at the beginning of next year, and as things stand she does not expect it to be renewed.

But Jamie is planning to ask if she can get tested every two weeks or be allowed to work from home. She also plans to consult the Labour Department and the Equal Opportunities Commission.